Psychiatric morbidity among HIV -infected children and adolescents in a resource-poor Kenyan urban community
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Date
2012Author
Kamau, Judy W .
Kuria, Wangari
Mathai, Muthoni
Atwoli, Lukoye
Kangethe, Rachael
Type
ArticleLanguage
enMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The course of HIV/AIDS in children has been transformed from an acute to a chronic one with the advent of
Anti-Retroviral Therapy. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and pattern of psychiatric
morbidity in HIV-infected children and adolescents between 6 and 18 years of age and the relationship between
their socio-demographic factors, immune suppression and psychiatric morbidity. The study was conducted at a
paediatric HIV clinic in Nairobi, between February and April 2010. One hundred and sixty-two HIV-infected
childrenandadolescentsagedbetween6and18yearsandtheirguardianswereinterviewed.Seventy-nine(48.8%)
of the study participants were found to have psychiatric morbidity. The most prevalent Diagnostic Statistical
Manual, 4th Edition TR psychiatric disorders were: Major depression (17.8%), Social phobia (12.8%),
Oppositional Defiant Disorder (12.1%) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (12.1%). Twenty-five
per cent of the study participants had more than one psychiatric disorder. The prevalence of psychiatric
morbidity in HIV-infected children ishigher than that found in children in the general population. There is therefore a need to integrate psychiatric services into the routine care of HIV-infected children
Citation
AIDS Care Vol. 24, No. 7, July 2012, 836842Publisher
Routledge Department of Psychiatry , University of Nairobi Department of Mental Health, School of Medicine, Moi University , Eldoret
Description
Psychiatric morbidity among HIV-infected children and adolescents in a resource-poor Kenyan
urban community
Collections
- Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) [10378]